I bought my car about a year and a half ago. When I was looking at the car one of the sales guys told me i should become a stripper to buy the car. That should have been a clue to go elsewhere but they gave me a good deal so i ignored the comment and bought the car from them. When I got the car it was late and dark so i did not see how dirty the car was when they gave it to me. Long story short, i had to go back 4 times to get my car to look like it should when you buy a new car. They even left sticker gunk on the window. When it came time to get an oil change, i took it to them since they told me i get one for free. Yesterday i took my care elsewhere to get another oil change. I was asked when was the last time i get an oil change. I told them around 3,000 miles ago. The guy told me there is no way that it was 3,000. When he showed me what my oil looked like and the lack of oil in the car. They did an engine flush and changed the oil. I then took it do a different dealership and had the engine checked out. my car had 20,000 miles on it and just replaced a valve cover replaced and a gasket replaced. is this because of the lack of oil change? is there anything i can do at the dealership to have them fix their problem??
Since you are describing a criminal act (falsifing vehicle mileage) just remember we are not lawyers. That being said I will only ask that you explain how the actual mileage on you car was determined.
Think of things this way, You (the Dealer) are going to commit a major crime and you won’t even do an oil change to cover your tracks? sounds strange, no chance the second garage is simply trying to impress a pretty girl?
Is the problem you want fixed the extra miles?
I’m sorry, but I’m confused by your story. When and at what mileage was this possible fake oil change? When and at what mileage were all the other oil changes?
Frankly I suspect the oil change place, not the dealer. Where did you have the oil changed, one of those fast oil change places. They are known for telling you anything to get you to by more un-needed products and services. They also have a poor record when it comes to doing the job right.
Forget the inappropriate comment. It has no value. Try to take it as a compliment.
If I understand correctly, you bought the car a year and a half ago. I assume it was used just based on the mileage amounts in your post. If it had been new you should have had a lot more oil changes then you’re referencing in the post.
For your first oil change you went back to the dealer.
For your second, 3,000 miles later, you went elsewhere, and they told you the previous oil change had to have been a lot longer than 3,000 miles ago based on the condition of the oil. They flushed the engine and changed the oil.
You then went to a different dealership and they replaced a valve cover and valve cover gasket.
Your question is can you hold the original dealership liable.
Well, no. If my math is correct you’ve put at least 6,000 miles on the car, a used car, since you bought it. There’s no way now to determine if the oil change done by the first dealership for free was actually not done or if the second place, which I suspect might be a jiffy lube, was lying in order to sell an engine flush. The evidence is all gone now.
As to having had the valve cover replaced, I suspect there’s some misunderstanding. A valve cover gasket perhaps, but valve covers are metal and not subject to wear or damage.
In short, you’ll have to get past this one, find a good reliable independantly owned and operated shop for future use, and just keep the maintenance up from here on.
Sorry.
I agree that the OP wrote her post in a confusing fashion, but I will attempt to decipher it.
I don’t think that she is alleging falsification of vehicle mileage (as oldschool suggests), but instead that she is alleging that the car’s oil was not changed at 3k miles, as the first dealership claimed (and, as Mr. Meehan suggests).
However, as lion9car mentions, some vital information is missing, including the number of oil changes and the odometer mileage of each oil change.
If I interpret this confusing post correctly, the OP took her car to the original dealership at 3k for a free oil change. Then, she took the car to an unknown venue for another oil change 3k later. At this mystery oil change establishment, she was told that instead of her oil having been in the crankcase for only 3k miles, it gave visual evidence of having been in the crankcase for 6k miles–and that the oil level was low.
On a brand-new car, I would defy anyone to make a visual distinction between 3k oil and 6k oil. There are so few combustion byproducts in the oil of a new car at 3k and at 6k that the oil should look essentially the same. As Mr. Meehan pointed out, if the 6k oil change was done by “Quicky Lube”, anything that they told the OP is definitely suspect–ESPECIALLY the need for an engine flush on a car with only 6k on the odometer!
Then, apparently at a later date, the OP took her warrantied car to another VW dealership, where a valve cover and valve cover gasket were replaced. I have to assume and hope that this work was done gratis, as the vehicle’s warranty would cover any engine repair with only 20k miles on the odometer. If the OP paid even one cent for this repair, then the second VW dealership is ripping her off.
Was the need for a new valve cover and valve cover gasket the result of the alleged skipped oil change? NO
Is there any clear evidence that the first dealership failed to change the oil? NO
At this point, the only point that is fairly clear to me is:
The OP failed to check her oil for at least 3k miles. That falls under the category of owner neglect, pure and simple. If the level of oil in her engine was low when it was changed, that is due to two factors, namely the tendency for new engines to burn a bit of oil before the piston rings are properly seated AND failure to check the oil regularly.
In order to prevent engine damage, one should never allow the oil level to fall more than 1 qt below the “full” mark on the dipstick. That is why the Owner’s Manual likely states that engine fluids should be checked every time that the gas tank is filled!
If the OP would like to post all of the missing information, that would be very helpful to us all, and I reserve the right to change my response in the light of new, more complete information.
In my attempt to decipher the post I concluded based on the two oil changes that it must have been bought used. If in fact it was bought new and has only had two oil changes, it would be the victim of serious neglect.
I sgree, it could be interpreted in more than one way. I too wuold like to see some proper chronology of events and some more detail. I too might change my mind if more were disclosed.
The mileage reading on the odometer when the car was purchased, and how 20k was determined. Valve cover and gasket done by the dealer under warranty? Same boat mbike.
The car was bought “new” with 1000 miles on it. I have had oil changes every 3,000 miles at a different dealership then where it bought it. Since i was “owed” my free oil change i decided to take it to the dealership i bought the car from for its oil changed the time before yesterday.
In that case either the shop doing the oil changes was skipping the work or the shop that showed you the black oil was simply misleading yuo to sell you a flush job. I suspect the latter, because it’s a common trick, but the evidence is gone forever.
I’m stumped on the valvecover gasket. Was there leakage? Did they change your PCV valve too?
They did replace both, along with the oil pan seal. the strange thing is i don’t have any oil on the driveway.
Let me add this. With a 1000 miles on it your car was not new. It was s dealer demo, etc. and this technically makes it a used car.
You’re apparently not checking the oil level, which is something that should do every couple of weeks even if you know for a fact the car uses no oil all. Failure to do this will eventually lead to a post of “why did my engine blow up”
There are a few other things.
You mention the oil was lacking. How much lacking was it?
A valve cover should not be leaking at such a young age and one wonders if this gasket mentioned is a drain plug gasket.
The salesman who made the stripper comment should be canned like a tuna immediately.